Dust & Diamonds
by Little-Angry-Kitten
Summary: Someone once said to me that people are a lot like diamonds. Under the right pressure they can turn into something beautiful and extraordinary. But if you use just a tiny bit more than what you need, they turn into dust. First on the Cracked Universe. Part of FAGE 2016


**A/N: This all started months ago when Alkeni tagged me on a gif set on Tumblr with this amazing idea of multi-verse Skyeward and of course I was down with it! So after I asked Myra for permission she was more than happy to do it. At the time though I had other things to get out in time, this Fic Exchange one of them. When I saw my prompt my mind went instantly in this AU and when Myra green lighted this again I dived right into it. Fast forward a few days I send her the first draft and she was very happy with it. So Tori, this gift comes to you from Myra and much as it does for me. If it wasn't for her work I wouldn't have the inspiration to write you something that's probably semi descent! lol A big, huge thank you to both Nicia (my trusted beta) and to Ashes At Midnight for the beautiful banner she made me as always!**

 **I really, really hope you won't hate this!**

 **FAGE 8:Soul Mates**

 **Title: Dust & Diamonds**

 **Written for: WelshWitch1011**

 **Written By: Little Angry Kitten**

 **Rating: M**

 **Summary/Prompt used: "What with all my expectations long abandoned**

 **And a future I no longer saw my hand in**

 **How I found you is beyond my understanding**

 **My stunning mystery companion."**

 **If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.**

 **community/FAGE-8-Soul-Mates/93625/**

* * *

Ward sighed as her hand slipped under the sheets again, and even though he was exhausted from the night's activities his body sparked to life again. To say that his girlfriend was insatiable would be the understatement of the century. But then again he wasn't any better when it came to alone time with Skye. The BUS was nice and all but overnights and hotel rooms were always better, they meant privacy and being able to enjoy each other much more than they did in their small bunks. He did love to make Skye scream in pleasure after all.

"Aren't you tired?" he groaned when her small hand wrapped around his hard length and Skye laughed huskily.

"Never when it comes to you," she teased, straddling his hips as his hands reached for her breasts, cupping the soft mounds gently.

"You'll be the death of me, woman," he moaned as she adjusted herself over him and took his hard cock inside her in one swift stroke. She moved lazily, her hips rocking gently and Ward was more than happy to settle back and enjoy the view. After all, those private moments were by far his favorite, seeing her unravel like that and lose control? Nothing could top that for him.

"Fuck, I'm almost there," she panted, her hands resting in the middle of his chest, and she picked up her pace. Knowing what she needed Ward reached between them and rubbed her clit roughly with one hand while he pulled her lips to his, his free hand cupping the back of her neck pushing her mouth against his, muffling the small scream that escaped her as her walls fluttered around him. A few short thrusts later he joined her too, heart racing like he had just run a marathon. Skye slumped against his chest, finally spent, trying to catch her breath. "I dread the moment I'll say I've had enough of you," she murmured kissing his chest.

"You won't," he said flipping them over and resting comfortably between her tanned thighs.

"And why's that?" she asked rubbing her nose against his, smiling as his strong frame melted into her softer one.

"Because I won't let you," Ward promised as his mouth trailed down the column of her throat, peppering kisses as he went. His phone rang just as he was ready to wrap his lips around a stiff nipple and Skye reached for it. Ward cursed quietly; they were supposed to have the weekend off.

Damn it, Coulson!

"We have to go," Skye grumbled as she shot a quick reply to Simmons' text and pushed him off of her gently.

"I don't wanna!" he whined and she threw his boxers at his face with a smile.

"I hate to see you all dressed up too, hot stuff, but Coulson needs us." She shrugged her flannel shirt on and shimmed into her jeans.

"It's our day off," he complained as he slipped into his jeans too. "Can't the Avengers save the day or something?"

"It's not that dangerous." She shrugged. "But it _is_ an 084 and Fury wanted Coulson to go in so we got dragged along. Fitzsimmons aren't happy either and from what I gather May is super pissed off because she wanted to stay in Hawaii a few more days." Skye's voice trailed off as she stepped into the bathroom.

Well, they'd have to do a rain check, because he sure as hell wasn't done with her just yet.

 _ **~D &D~**_

Ward had thought a lot about how his life would have been if Coulson hadn't gotten to him when he did. The possibilities were endless; he might have been tried as an adult like his parents wanted, he might have been rotting in prison like his big brother so desired, or worse, someone else who wasn't as kind as Coulson could have gotten to him and led him down a much darker path. He would have never met Skye or Fitzsimmons, he would have never known how it felt to love someone and for someone to love you back, or what the word family really meant.

Thankfully that wasn't the case, because Coulson did find in him in time and he did give him a second chance and helped him put back the pieces his family's abuse had broken apart, and for that Ward would never be able to thank him enough. Phil showed him what it felt like to have someone that cared, someone that would always be there for you, someone that helped you through the trauma of abuse and move on to be a better person. But most importantly, Phil brought Skye into Ward's life.

If someone told him four years ago that he would fall for the snarky hacker they kidnapped from her van Ward would have split his sides laughing and that said something because Ward didn't do laughing. Nonetheless though, Skye got under his skin from the very first moment they laid eyes on each other and neither of them was able to fight it. The connection became obvious when Coulson offered her a place on their team and it only got stronger when Ward took over Skye's training to become a SHIELD Agent.

It finally peaked after a mission gone wrong in Dublin, an Asgardian staff brought back every single bad memory he had and the rage took over again and for a brief moment Ward snapped back to that scared child that was full of anger. Skye was the one to help him find himself again, one thing led to another and they found themselves under cheap hotel sheets. Neither of them regretted the way they came together and they hadn't looked back since that night. Their relationship had its ups and downs but they were both in for the long run.

He snuck a look at her, practically vibrating in her seat, as she sang along to Fall Out Boy, her head banging to the loud bass of the song. Ward couldn't help but smile at her off tune efforts to follow the lead singer and do all the back up voices too. How he ended up with someone as perfect as Skye he would never know.

"How long till we're there?" she asked as she turned the radio off, composing herself, her previous antics forgotten.

"Ten minutes or so," he answered keeping one hand on the steering wheel while lacing the fingers of the other with hers.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Skye smiled sheepishly, catching his gaze in the rearview mirror.

"Like what?" A smirk tugged at the side of his lips.

"Like I'm the best thing since sliced bread," she teased, trying to take some of the tension off. Neither of them was the overly touchy feely type of person, they had their moments but they usually were late at night while they laid naked under heavy sheets.

"Because you are." He shrugged and went back to looking at the road ahead.

 _ **~D &D~**_

"You're here!" Simmons met them at the entrance of the Playground, and Ward didn't like the giddiness in her voice. "You won't believe what happened!" She bounced on her feet, practically buzzing.

"Simmons, breathe." Skye instructed as one half of the science babies (as she lovingly dubbed them) was practically ready to pass out. "Tell us why we were called in." Just as Simmons opened her mouth to explain a very familiar voice boomed from behind them.

"Grant Ward." They all froze for the briefest of moments. "Step away from the agents and put your hands were I can see them."

Well, fuck them all sideways.

 _ **~D &D~**_

What followed next went down in Ward's books as one of the most disastrous missions he had ever taken on. It was a full hour of dealing with not one but two Skyes (two!), one of whom was here to kill him in any way possible. That being said Ward didn't really want to die so it took both May and Coulson to talk Skye 2.0 (or Daisy as she claimed her real name was) down from the ledge and spare Ward for just a few more minutes.

Funny as it might sound, Daisy trying to kill him wasn't even the bad news. According to her, Ward turned into some kind of monster in the future (or at least her future) and killed and maimed several people, going completely dark. Somehow Daisy had convinced herself that the only way to keep her version of Ward from doing all those things was to go back in time (obviously the reason FitzSimmons were so excited) and kill him. Unaware to her though she actually jumped into a whole other universe (multi verses were a thing after all) and ended up trying to kill this completely innocent Ward, or so FitzSimmons claimed.

"Any questions?" Coulson's gruff voice brought him out of his thoughts. His eyes met Skye's (Daisy's, he corrected himself) for a brief moment and Ward was taken aback by the hate burning inside them. He was so used to those two eyes looking back at him full of love and adoration that even the thought of a different version of Skye not loving him broke him to pieces.

"I have a small question…" His Skye cut in, her voice taking a defensive tone. "So we're supposed to believe that our Ward is evil because she says he is?" Six pair of eyes locked on Daisy, the other woman never losing her perfect poker face. If anything she looked like she was running out of patience no matter how many times people explained to her that their Ward wasn't who she was looking for.

"Coulson we don't have time for this," Daisy hissed and tried to move towards Ward but a dark look from May made her stay put. "People will die because of him." She settled for verbal attack instead hoping the others would see reason.

"I'm not Hydra, Coulson," Ward shot back, sure of himself. He would never do something as vile as join Hydra, right? Yeah he had killed a time or two when the mission called for it but those people were usually drug lords or corrupted politicians. "I will never be Hydra," he added looking at Skye, his reason for trying to be a better man every day. "I am loyal to SHIELD, you know that."

"Says the future Director of Hydra," Daisy shot back, venom dripping from her words and the room sank into silence, all eyes fixed on Ward.

"Are you out of your bloody mind?"

" _Head of Hydra_?"

FitzSimmons spoke at the same time, disgust and disbelief lacing with their words and they graced Daisy with matching glares now.

"You have no idea what he's capable of," Daisy murmured and her hands clenched into fists.

"I've worked beside Agent Ward for many years, Agent Johnson." Coulson interjected, trying to ease some of the tension. "We all have. We know exactly what he's capable of. Agent Ward is a good man." Coulson said sincerely.

"Years?" Daisy asked, in confusion. "That can't be right," she murmured to herself, looking down at the watch wrapped around her wrist.

"Yes." Coulson assured her. "I found him when he was just a kid, I took him in, I trained him. We've been working together for almost eighteen years now, three of which he's been a valuable member of my team." Daisy shook her head lightly as if trying to clear her thoughts but didn't protest, still toying with the small gadget.

"I assume that means Ward is cleared?" Skye asked after several minutes of silence.

"Your Ward is," Daisy answered absentminded. "My Ward on the other hand..." she trailed off sadly. "Not that he's mine or anything." She hurried to add. "Anyways. Must have miscalculated on the landing." She explained and Fitz's ears perked up again.

 _ **~D &D~**_

Ward poured himself another drink, Daisy's words still haunting him. She couldn't be right, could she? And if she was did that mean that he was meant to go dark in this universe too? FitzSimmons had mentioned something about connections between all the incarnations of the same person and how they shared habits and traits. It scared the crap out of him, the idea that something bad enough might happen and make him destroy everything he worked for. What had that Ward possibly gone through to wipe any good out of him?

"There you are." Skye's arms wrapped around his waist and she rested her cheek against his back. "I've been looking all over for you."

"I just needed some time away." He confessed and turned to face her. He sat down on the bar stool and pulled her between his thighs, their foreheads pressed together. "Do you think she was telling the truth?" he asked quietly after a few moments.

"Honestly?" He nodded and she cupped his cheek. "I think she did but that has nothing to do with you. There's a possibility that in some parallel universe you are nuts but that's not who you are here."

"God, the hatred in her eyes," he trailed off recalling the looks Daisy gave him. "I haven't seen someone look at me that way since I was a kid." He shook his head trying to keep away all the bad memories that rushed to come back.

"Grant!" Skye called softly. "That was not us! It's sad, yes, but it's not us. I didn't suddenly decide to give up my identity and become a SHIELD pawn and you didn't turn into some Darth Vader or something!" Ward laughed crushing his lips against hers.

"I love you so fucking much," he breathed as they pulled apart in need of air.

"Yeah, whatever," she teased. "I guess you're alright." Ward's hand came down on her ass lightly and Skye yelped in surprise. "I love you too."

"That's more like it," he chastised and pulled her in for another kiss, his hands slipping under her shirt.

"Bloody hell!" Fitz's disgusted voice reached them. "Is no place in this BUS safe from you anymore? What do I have to do to stop walking in on you getting frisky?"

"You're not the one that should do something." Simmons materialized beside him like usual. "They should stop defiling every flat surface available!"

Skye chuckled stepping out of his arms and Ward itched to pull her back in.

"Jealous much?" Skye taunted as she and Simmons walked away together and Ward smiled taking a moment to just enjoy the way his life turned out, everything Daisy told them pushed to the back of his mind, almost forgotten.

"You coming, Ward?" Fitz called, standing a few feet away from him, smiling like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Yes." Ward nodded simply and jumped to his feet, following his friends to the lounge for another round of scrabble he'd probably lose but oh well…

 _Who cared, anyway_ _?_

 _ **~D &D~**_

"Agent Johnson." The familiar voice reached her just as Daisy was ready to re-enter the proper co-ordinates into her vortex manipulator. She wanted to be out of here as soon as possible, she just couldn't stomach all this... normality. Maybe a small part of herself, her old self, was jealous of what this Skye and Ward had. Jealous of what she should have had, but it was water under the bridge now. The Ward from her universe made sure to ruin every chance they might have had by taking over Hydra.

"Agent Coulson." She smiled politely to the older man but it didn't reach her eyes. In another place and a completely different time she would have returned his cheery attitude; maybe in a universe where her life hadn't been taken over by betrayal and darkness. "How may I help you?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright." He smiled and if Daisy could close her eyes she would pretend that she was back at the BUS (the one they had to shoot down from the sky in order to get into the Hydra base), where Coulson just wanted a favor and FitzSimmons was waiting for her to start movie night while Ward would bitch and moan about training and how they missed it again and May would trot in ten minutes into the movie claiming she didn't like it but she would still sit and watch. She stopped herself there, this wasn't her anymore, she wasn't Skye, and she couldn't afford to lose her focus or nerve now.

"I'm fine. Thank you," she answered curtly and Coulson cocked his head to the side.

"You know," he said, his words a familiar echo of the Coulson she used to know. "Someone once said to me that people are a lot like diamonds." His gaze pierced through hers. "Under the right pressure they can turn into something beautiful and extraordinary." Daisy reached for the button on the manipulator but he didn't seem to notice. "But if you use just a tiny bit more than what you need they turn into dust." He finished giving her a knowing look.

"What's your point, Coulson?" she snarled, the implication in his words crystal clear.

"That's for you to discover on your own, _Skye_ ," he returned calmly, giving emphasis on her old name.

 _Skye_.

Her old self would have stayed back, she would have asked for explanations, she'd demand them even. But she wasn't Skye anymore and she couldn't afford to lose any more time. So she pressed the button and hoped this time she got it right.

 _Grant Ward had to die._


End file.
